Your actions have consequences. I remember when I heard Mayor DeStefano make that comment at one of the candidates’ forums. It seems as if too few people think about the consequences of their actions, or believe that their actions don’t have consequences.

As the legislative session draws to a close in Hartford, it is probably a good idea to think about some of the consequences of what has been voted on up there. As an example, I think it is interesting to think about the effects on transportation of Gov. Rell’s budget proposal and compare it to what Mayor DeStefano has been doing.

Gov. Rell proposed an increase in the bus fair. She was only asking for a twenty-five cent increase and we can all spare an extra quarter when we take the bus, right? Well, for some people who rely on the bus, the twenty percent increase in their transportation costs cuts into their budget more substantially than it does for others.

In another candidates’ forum, Mayor DeStefano talked about the concept of inelasticity. As you raise the price of goods and services, at some point, the revenues stop going up as more people switch to alternatives. I don’t know what the elasticity point is for local buses, but it seems as if we should be promoting policies to encourage people to take the bus and not discourage them.

Another important concept is that of the learning curve. When you are producing a new product, it is most expensive to produce the first units and as you become more proficient in production, your costs go down. You may not know how much costs will go down or if demand will go up. That is part of the risks of business.

When Toyota first started producing their hybrids, they lost money on every hybrid they made. Yet they approached it as an investment in the future and their hybrid line is now profitable and growing. Ford has come out with hybrids and is trying to catch up.

The new technology that a lot of people are interested in is fuel cells. Connecticut is a center of expertise in fuel cells. UTC produced fuel cells in the 1960 as part of the space program. Today, they are producing fuel cells for Hyundai, Nissan, and BMW. They are also producing fuel cells for city buses. By 2015, the U.S. Department of Transportation wants 10% of all new buses to be powered by fuel cells. Where will these fuel cells be built? Hopefully, here in Connecticut.

Because of this, New Haven Clean Cities, the Greater New Haven Transit District, the Department of Traffic and Parking and the Federal Transit Administration are working together to bring fuel cell powered buses to the streets of New Haven.

We can adopt policies that discourage people from taking public transportation, or we can step out and support bold new policies that will address many issues, energy usage, the environment, transportation and job growth all at the same time.

Yes, our actions do have consequences and we should be encouraging policies that will have the most beneficial effects on Connecticut. We should be expecting more of our leaders and ourselves.